An optimal protocol for measurement of corticospinal excitability, short intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation in the rectus femoris

Brownstein, Callum, Ansdell, Paul, Škarabot, Jakob, Howatson, Glyn, Goodall, Stuart and Thomas, Kevin (2018) An optimal protocol for measurement of corticospinal excitability, short intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation in the rectus femoris. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 394. pp. 45-56. ISSN 0022-510X

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2018.09.001

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the optimal application of single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the rectus femoris. Twenty-nine male adults participated in the study, which involved 5 separate experiments. Experiments 1 to 3 assessed the effect of conditioning stimulus (CS) intensity (60, 70, 80 and 90% active motor threshold, AMT), contraction strength (5, 10, 20 and 50% maximum voluntary contraction, MVC), and inter-stimulus interval (ISI, 2–5 ms for short-interval intracortical inhibition, SICI and 10–15 ms for intracortical facilitation, ICF) on SICI and ICF. In Experiment 4, 30 measurements of corticospinal excitability (CSE), SICI and ICF were recorded, with the minimum number of consecutive measurements required as a probability of falling within the 95% CI determined. In Experiment 5, within- and between-day reliability of CSE, SICI and ICF was assessed. The results suggest that for SICI, a CS of 70% AMT, ISI of 2 ms, and contraction strength of 5 or 10% MVC induces the greatest level of inhibition. Negligible differences in ICF were seen across stimulus variables. The minimum number of measurements required to obtain an accurate estimate of CSE, SICI and ICF was 21, 18 and 17, respectively. Using the optimal stimulus variables and number of measurements, CSE, SICI and ICF can be measured reliably both within- and between-days (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC ≥ 0.87, ≥0.74, and ≥0.61, respectively). The current findings can be used to guide future investigations using single- and paired-pulse TMS to elicit responses in the rectus femoris.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Transcranial magnetic stimulation, Paired-pulse, Knee extensors
Subjects: C600 Sports Science
C900 Others in Biological Sciences
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation
Depositing User: Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited: 10 Sep 2018 14:24
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 10:18
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/35649

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